Assignment 9: Iran-contra Affair

Honesty is usually the best policy. Unless, of course, it's political policy.

Known for his honesty, President Ronald Reagan found his famous integrity under scrutiny after his alleged involvement in the Iran-Contra affair in the 1980's. Though the words “Iran” and “Contra” had scarcely been spoken in the same sentence, the Reagan administration brought the two together in a series of covert operations.

The “contra” portion of the scandal refers to the Central American group opposing the Sardinista regime, whose practices mimicked communism. As a staunch anti-communist, Reagan vowed to monetarily support the group because of the growing influence of Central America in the North.

After the Democrats passed the Boland Act in 1984, it became almost impossible for Reagan to help the contras whom he had been supporting. He reportedly said to National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane, "I want you to do whatever you have to do to help these people keep body and soul together." He was so adamant about their cause that he compared the Central American contras to American “founding fathers.”

The administration would have to find another way to get funds to the contras, which is where the “Iran” part of the Iran-Contra scandal comes in.

In 1985, when war was raging between Iraq and Iran, the latter made a secret request to purchase arms from the U.S. Although the U.S. had set up an embargo against such arms trading to occur between them and Iran, McFarlane assured the president that it would improve relations with the various Middle Eastern nations, specifically the strategic nation of Lebanon. Though improved relations was a bonus, Reagan agreed to the deal because it would allow the U.S. to negotiate with Iran about several hostages, even though he promised never to do such arms-hostage negotiations. President Reagan contended that “he had the duty to bring those Americans home,” regardless of his earlier promise.

The negotiations progressed and when a Lebanese newspaper printed an article exposing the arms-for-hostages deal, the American public became infuriated. Although the president denied the U.S. involvement, a single week later he retracted his statement and defended the administration's actions.

Though this left Americans in doubt of their “honest” leader, the last nail on the coffin came when the “Iran” and “Contra” issues intertwined. Apparently, of the $30 million allocated from Iran, $18 million of it was being siphoned off to the aforementioned Central American contras.

Several government officials were connected to the affair, including Lieutenant Oliver North, John Poindexter, and Caspar Weinburger, all who were pardoned by George Bush in the following years Also, higher-ups including Reagan and Vice President Bush were investigated, although no convicting evidence was found.

Most interestingly though, was that Reagan rebounded from his mishap, and wound up with the highest approval rating since Roosevelt. But the affair caused the general public to question the power of the executive branch (as Reagan did break the law), and also the congressional role in foreign policy. Today, the issues of the executive branch and the Middle East remain central to political controversy.

Sources:
http://www.pbs.org/
http://www.bartleby.com/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/269619.stm